Gould is the remnant of a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

impact crater formation that lies in the midst of the Mare Nubium, in the southwest quadrant of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. It was named after American astronomer Benjamin A. Gould. It is located to the east-northeast of the prominent crater Bullialdus, and south of the crater remnant Opelt. This crater has been flooded by

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

, and only segments of the outer rim still project above the surface of the lunar mare. The most intact section of the rim is the western quadrant, which now forms a curved ridge. There is a shorter segment of surviving rim to the northeast, which is bisected by the crater Gould P. Only small, low ridges remain to outline the original crater to the north and southeast, and the southern rim has been completely destroyed. A

catena Catena (Latin for chain) or catenae (plural) may refer to: Science * ''Catena'' (fly), a genus in the family Tachinidae *Catena (linguistics) is a unit of syntax and morphology, closely associated with dependency grammars * Catena (computing), nu ...

, or chain of tiny craters, forms a line running from the southern part of the crater floor towards the eastern part. The craters are probably secondaries from Bullialdus.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Gould.

References

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External links

{{Commonscat
Gould at The Moon Wiki
Impact craters on the Moon